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Behave, Bambino: Ruth’s 1922 Contract at Auction

Babe Ruth’s signed 1922 contract, which included a morals clause aimed at keeping the party loving Bambino in line, is being offered on eBay.

Los Angeles-based Gazin Auctions is offering the document, which paid Ruth $52,000 per year, a big increase from the deal he’d signed with the Boston Red Sox that carried over to his first couple of years in pinstripes. Signed twice in fountain pen by Ruth and Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert, the deal gave Ruth a 520% pay hike from his previous contract and was more than three times the salary of any other player in baseball at the time.

Ruth told reporters at the time that he’d asked for $52,000 per year because “there are 52 weeks in a year, and I’ve always wanted to make a grand a week.”

The auction company has set the minimum bid for the pact at $800,000, with bidding set to close Sunday morning. The same contract was offered by Goldin Auctions last year.

The contract insists that Ruth “refrain entirely from the use of intoxicating liquors and that he shall not during the training and playing season in each year stay up later than 1 o’clock A.M. on any day without the permission and consent of the Club’s manager.”

The auction requires pre-qualification for interested bidders and requires a $50,000 deposit due Monday, with the balance to be transferred by May 28. You can see the listing here.

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About Rich Mueller

Rich is the editor and founder of Sports Collectors Daily. A broadcaster and writer for more than 30 years and a collector for even longer than that, he's usually typing something somewhere. Type him back at [email protected]